Two of my daughters were accepted at Emory and my oldest got a full scholarship. She loved the school and would definitely have gone there had she not also gotten into Harvard. I know at least one other homeschooler who went to Emory on a full scholarship.

:iagree:I noticed early on that if the reading was about science, my kids would get all the answers right, but if it was about the emotional impact of discrimination on a Serbian-American woman who grew up in Miami in 1920, they'd get most of them wrong. It all had to do with what was interesting to them and what they could relate to. We've dealt with that by reading and discussing LOTS of non-fiction articles on all kinds of topics with them. Also, work hard on vocabulary! I tell my kids they have no control over the boring readings and confusing questions in the CR section, but they should aim to never miss a vocabulary question.

My youngest two took it; they are 9th and 10th grade. They said the math and writing sections were very easy -- they had lots of time to check and thought they got them all -- but the first CR section was tough.

I'm pretty sure PSAT scores aren't linked to your college board account in any way, so it shouldn't matter.

The scores should come in the mail in early December. My high school keeps the test books and gives them out to their kids when the scores come. Sometimes they mail them back to the homeschoolers. If I don't get it, I go in and ask. Sometimes they can give me back my child's book, other times they just give me an extra one. I've always been able to get one.

The blog article left off the opening paragraph of the Crimson article which says this is the name of Kirkland's annual dance. The original article is criticizing the name. It is a dance only open to members of the house, who see themselves as family. The name is tacky and offensive to victims of incest, but the dance itself is just a dance. Read the original article yourself here: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/10/9/berstler-incest/

Actually, this is just a very offensive name for a formal dance held at one of the houses. Each house holds a holiday formal and this is the informal name for Kirkland's. It's not what it sounds like.

:iagree: I have heard this advice over and over at college info sessions. The application essay isn't a writing test; it's a chance for the admissions people to get to know the student in ways that wouldn't come through on other parts of the application. Paying someone to write it for you would be unethical. Having someone look over what you've written and make suggestions is recommended by admissions people and is wise.

I'm not sure about that -- my kids always told personal stories using I and they've been accepted pretty much everywhere they've applied, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

This is some of the worst advice I've ever heard! The PSAT is around $15, it doesn't go on your child's record, you get the actual test back along with the answers your child gave and the correct answers, and your child gets to experience a real testing situation. Of course your child should also prep for the SAT by doing practice tests, but why skip the PSAT????

I have had two children attend Harvard, and I have one at Princeton. We have not found this type of environment AT ALL. Of course hooking up goes on, but you also have many students from other, more conservative countries who have worked hard to get there and wouldn't dare dishonor their parents. The environment is much more conducive to serious study than what you'd find at your average state school. My kids have been part of the Christian Fellowship and have been able to find like-minded friends who want to have fun without being immoral. They hang out together and hold each other accountable. My daughter at Princeton is in a co-ed dorm, but her wing is all girls. Students jokingly refer to it as "the nunnery." My kids at Harvard were also in co-ed dorms, but they always had suites (single-sex) with their own bathroom. It's more like an apartment without the kitchen than a dorm room. Don't discount all the Ivies because of one article sensationalizing immorality at Yale.

We always put 1/1. They understand what that means and I don't think it makes homeschoolers look silly. It's the honest answer -- they're in a class of one!

Is your brother a junior? Only juniors are eligible for NM, so a sophomore who had a 220 would not be contacted.

My kids did a Community College course using Tro along with Barron's and got a 780 on the Chemistry subject test.

My son got a semifinalist packet a couple of weeks ago. The official list of semifinalists is being released to the press on 9/13. I'm not sure when they notify commended students, but I think if she was a semifinalist you'd know by now.

We used the electronic form on the common ap for the teacher recs (cc profs). Our kids each had a couple of extra letters --e.g., my current 12th grader plans to ask his piano teacher and his mentor at NIH where he is an intern. For those letters, we give the recommender a stamped envelope addressed to each school and a sheet with the student's ID information to attach to the letter.

I don't know about a professional editing service, but there is certainly no problem with a parent or teacher looking over a student's essay and making suggestions and proofreading. I have heard college admissions officials recommend this at pretty much every place we've visited. They expect students to have help with editing. Maybe it's sad that it's necessary, but that's the way it is... People have hired me as a tutor to help their students with their essays and I see no problem with it. It's still completely the student's work. I just give suggestions -- for example, instead of saying, "I volunteered in a homeless shelter," start with a vivid "word picture" of an experience at the shelter. I also point out any grammar or spelling errors that need to be fixed. The finished essay is still the student's work in the student's voice.

I suggest looking at college websites and seeing what courses they expect students to take. We looked at what the best colleges require, because we figured we wanted to give our kids an education that wouldn't shut any doors for them. This is from Harvard's website: http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html I also suggest you have your child take SAT subject tests as you go along, even if you think he or she won't need them. I've known several students who assumed they didn't need them, then got great SAT scores and decided to apply to schools that require them and were struggling to review the biology they learned in ninth grade... And I agree with Creekland. Colleges don't require APs, but they expect the best students to be taking them. It is a way of validating your program that they understand.

Starting in middle school, I had my kids do a 25-minute section about three days a week. I also had them take the test in 7th and 8th grade as practice because the scores don't stay on their record.

Your PC should have Windows Movie Maker. My boys use that all the time!

I haven't been to the MIT Museum, but the Harvard Museum of Natural History is amazing! It's one of our favorite places.

Lots of kids do AP US History along with AP US Gov -- they complement each other well and gov is a very easy test. I wouldn't do AP Euro along with US unless your child memorizes very easily. They are both memory intensive.

Isn't the AP Bio test changing this year? Is the Lab Manual you got from 2012 or is it an older edition? If it's older, I'm not sure it's applicable because I understand the labs are changing. Carolina sells kits for the AP labs (at least for the old AP labs :)). They are aimed at teachers though, so they're pricey. We're frustrated that we invested in them and now, when we're getting to our 6th and last child, they went and changed the test! http://www.carolina.com/category/life+science/ap+biology/ap+biology+kits.do

Unbroken is a great survival story! Things We Couldn't Say by Diet Eman is also very good -- like The Hiding Place, but more uplifting in my opinion.

We just called for scores -- both of my dc got 5s on the French!